Meusburger came into Ningbo in impressive form, with recent results including her first WTA title in Bad Gastein, a runner-up showing in Budapest and a semifinal outing last week in Guangzhou. In fact, she rose to a career-high No.57 on this week's rankings.

The fourth-seeded Meusburger surrendered just eight points on serve in disposing of qualifier Richel Hogenkamp, 60 61, in just 46 minutes to improve to 3-0 in their series while recording her 15th win in her last 19 matches.

The thriller of the day saw Johanna Konta edge No.8 seed Lauren Davis, 64 46 63, in three hours and five minutes. Each player won 108 points, with the Brit taking the last three games from 3-3 in the third set. Konta is fresh off her best WTA showing, a quarterfinal showing in Guangzhou.

Also moving on was Zhang Shuai, who improved to 7-0 in her series with fellow Chinese Han Xinyun with a 62 61 rout. Zhang captured her first WTA title on Saturday in Guangzhou and has now won 12 straight sets.